Only a Galaxy Apart
by MaryChristmas
Summary: What are Goa'uld doing in the Pegasus galaxy? And what about Jack? (chapter 3 up)
1. One

Disclaimer: I do not own SGA or SG-1  
Summary: What are Ba'al's forces doing on a planet in the Pegasus galaxy?  
  
Rating: Pg-13  
Archive: Cross-Gate, WeirMckayship, All others please ask.  
Pairings: Eventual Weir/McKay  
Spoilers: SG-1: The Lost City Parts I and II, Season Eight; SGA: Season One (with the exception of The Storm as I had the very misfortunate luck to miss that one…)  
Genre: Action/Adventure  
Warnings: Some adult language and situations, but nothing anyone thirteen and older can't handle.  
  
A/N: The seeds of this story began with me wanting to see Carter's reaction to McKay having a ((gasp)) real relationship. Of course, I then had to have some kind of way for her to get to Atlantis, and as the story slowly evolved, it began to have absolutely nothing to do with that at all. And Jack somehow forced his way into becoming a major character (even though I had originally planned to leave him sitting in his office, gritting his teeth over missing yet another mission while his team goes into danger just like they do on the show). The general can be a little…persuasive…when he wants to be…  
  
I would like to thank MurdocsAngel for starting the Weir/McKay group and for writing her two lovely Weir/McKay stories (of Chocolate and Edible Boxers and Of Chocolate and Babies); they've really inspired me.  
  
Also, if somebody would be kind enough to beta, I would be very grateful. Just e-mail me, or leave your e-mail address in a review saying you're interested.  
  
**

Only A Galaxy Apart

**  
  
Chapter One

Rodney McKay, leading expert (at least in the Pegasus Galaxy) in wormholes and stargate technology, stepped through the 'gate, coming out just behind Lieutenant Ford. The other members of the team were already standing around the giant ring, doing what they always did when first setting foot on a new planet. Major Sheppard was gazing at the terrain with a trained eye, looking for any aggressors; Ford had gone ahead, scouting the perimeter; and Teyla was scanning the area for signs of familiar faces. 

McKay sighed and hoisted the rucksack containing all his expensive and delicate equipment to his shoulder. According to the Athosian woman, the people of this planet were friendly, but shy. Just like the majority of the other peoples of the Pegasus galaxy. Not that he blamed them, of course. Who wouldn't be shy, when at any minute life-sucking vampires could come through the gate and take you for the main course? 

Ford hadn't yet come back, but McKay took out his recently nicknamed tricorder anyway and flipped it on. It immediately picked up a surge of energy from somewhere nearby. Not too far to walk, but far enough away from the 'gate that they couldn't see what had caused it. He gazed at the horizon anyway, squinting in the brightness of the sun, then looked back at his instrument. Excitement coursed through him. It was _pulsing_, meaning that it was a stable power source. 

He grinned foolishly and turned to Sheppard who raised his eyebrows in question. Before McKay could form the words however, Teyla interrupted. 

"I do not like the feel of this place," she murmured, glancing around, "The Julans should already have come to greet us." 

Instantly, Sheppard was on the alert, his P-90 raised threateningly. McKay swallowed nervously. This was one of the things he hated about interstellar travel; it was too dangerous. He had become somewhat used to constantly being on his guard, his heart tripping dangerously fast as adrenalin pumped through his system, but he still hated the feeling, still wished (albeit, only slightly) that he were back on Earth in a safe environment merely studying the theory of astrophysics. 

"Ford," Sheppard said, activating the radio, "Can you read me?" 

There was a tense moment of silence as the three of them awaited an answer. Seconds ticked away, and McKay swore he could hear them despite not having a watch that ticked. Finally, the radio came to life and they all let out a sigh of relief, that was proven to be premature by Ford's words. 

_Goa'uld, sir_, Ford said, his voice tinny and soft over the radio. It sounded like he was whispering, _There are Jaffa everywhere. I'm on my way back._

After the transmission ended, there was another moment of silence and then… 

"Jaffa?" 

"Gould?" 

The questions came from Teyla and Sheppard, respectively, at the same time; McKay could only stare at them for a moment before he realized that Teyla-being from the Pegasus galaxy-and Sheppard-having never heard of the stargate until he had been drafted onto the Atlantis expedition due to his uncanny ability of activating Ancient technology without effort-had no clue what the Goa'uld were. McKay grunted in annoyance. 

They're the enemy we're trying to find technologies to defeat back in our own galaxy," he settled for saying. 

"Oh," said Sheppard, "Then, if they're here, that's bad." 

"No, it's good. Of course it's bad!" McKay shouted, "Can you imagine what they'd do if they got their snakey little hands on Ancient technology? Not to mention the fact that they obviously are slightly more advanced than they were before we came here or they couldn't be here themselves! We are so screwed…" He muttered the last, imagining Wraith coming at them from one side and Goa'uld from another, and shuddered. 

"All right," Sheppard said, sounding annoyed, "We'll be fine. As soon as Ford gets here, we'll go back through the 'gate and tell Dr. Weir what we know." 

"What about the Julans?" Teyla asked. She had been silently listening to their conversation, "What has happened to them?" Her dark eyes were on McKay and he frowned. Since when was he the 'know it all'? Oh, since he had told them he was. 

"They've probably been…" but he was cut off by a staff blast that missed his head by inches. 

"Get down!" Sheppard shouted, pulling the stunned McKay down with him. 

They lay belly down on the ground and began crawling towards the 'gate. McKay had been in battles before, but they had been Wraith battles. The Wraith weapons didn't kill. Staff weapons did. He cringed every time a blast went over his head, and began to wonder if the Jaffa who were firing the weapons even knew they were there. 

That question was answered a moment later when Ford came flying over the top of a hill and landed beside him on the ground, panting with pain. McKay glanced at him and saw a smoking wound on his leg. The younger man waved him away, however, when he offered a hand, and they continued on to the 'gate. 

"Dial it!" shouted Sheppard. He was crouching behind the DHD and firing into the ranks of Jaffa that were rapidly closing in. As bullets met their marks, the bright lights of staff blasts were thinned, but more soon rose to fill the gaps. 

McKay crawled around, and keeping his head ducked, punched in the symbols that would take them to Atlantis. The 'gate whirled to life as the symbols locked into place, and the swirling vortex of the forming wormhole shot out and then settled within the ring, a shimmering pool of undulating lights. Relief filled McKay, making him almost dizzy as he and Teyla crawled to the event-horizon. The Athosian went through, and the scientist risked one look back to see Ford right behind him. 

As if in slow motion, he saw a staff blast headed right for the young man, and McKay was almost fascinated by it. Through molasses he moved, not questioning his motives-or his sanity-and shoved the lieutenant out of the way, taking the brunt of the blast himself. -----------------

Jack O'Neill gave a soft groan as he attempted to move his arms and legs. They were stiff with lack of exercise and he wondered how long he'd been out of it. He had woken only a few minutes before to find himself staring at sunlight filtering down through tree-leaves. In that few minutes he had tried to figure out where he was and what happened, but the last thing he remembered was being in his office filling out requisition forms for weapons and food. 

Sitting up slowly, he took in the surroundings with a practiced eye. He was in a forest of some sort, but was it on Earth? Or had he been taken to some other planet? It was a temperate forest, but that could include a lot of places on his home planet and he didn't even want to think about the similar landscapes he'd come across in his travels through the 'gate. 

_The 'gate is about four kilometers to the southeast,_ he thought. The thought gave him pause, because he had no idea where it had come from, or what it might mean. Brief flashes of memory passed before his eyes, but none of it made any sense. It did make his head hurt though, and he pressed his hands to his temples, closing his eyes against the pain. 

It went soon enough, and he got shakily to his feet. He trusted his instincts, despite how strange that thought had been, and they told him to follow the directions his mind had provided. It was eerily similar to how he'd reacted when having the Ancients' knowledge in his head, but he refused to even think about that. He needed to find out where he was first. Then he could worry about the possibility of dying from a mental overload. 

The way was slow going at first; his body still hadn't recovered from being useless for however long it was. However, his muscles recalled what they had been trained for so long and Jack was making much better progress, following some inner feeling that he was going the right way-and as the trees became thicker-changing his course ever so slightly. 

Finally, the trees thinned out, and he could see a clearing ahead. In the center of it stood a giant ring, and Jack smiled tiredly. He didn't have a GDO, but he could 'gate to the Alpha Site and go home through there. Or, if the unthinkable had happened, figure out how and why he'd been taken to an alien planet and left there. And if he had actually taken the download for a third time, well, he would just have to contact Thor. The little alien had been more protective of him after the last incident, and every time he called, he had been answered. 

_Where was he when this happened?_ a snide little voice asked. Jack shrugged. He never said the Asgard were perfect. In fact, he had, at times, been quite annoyed with the grey aliens. 

He shook these thoughts aside as he came up to the DHD and raised his hand in anticipation of dialing. However, the symbols brought him up short. There was something strange about them. Instead of having just the simple line drawing, each constellation was dotted-as if it were showing the actual stars that made them. Frowning, he looked up at the 'gate. It looked…sleeker. Newer. 

Dread filled the pit of his stomach, and he swallowed against the lump that had risen into his throat. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like what his observations meant. 

Slowly, he punched in the symbols for the Alpha Site, praying with each on that lit, it would work. Right before he got to the seventh he paused and closed his eyes, muttering fervently, and then pounded it with unnecessary force. 

Nothing happened. He tried it again. 

Still nothing. 

He sighed and leaned against the DHD for support. This was so not good. Then, as he had felt the dread, he felt a moment's hope. It was just a hunch, but it wouldn't hurt to try it out. He swallowed again, and began dialing. He remembered the address, not from that strange not-quite-his-own-thoughts, but from seeing it written on a dry-erase board. Few people knew he had a photographic memory-and he wanted to keep it that way. 

This time, when punched in the last symbol, the 'gate spun, and a wormhole opened. He took a few steps towards it, stopped and closed his eyes as the meaning behind this presented itself fully to his conscious. 

He was, somehow, in the Pegasus galaxy. The ramifications of this nearly overwhelmed him, but he shoved it all to the back of his mind. He could discuss this with the people on the other side of that 'gate. With the team he had watched disappear for what everyone was reasonably certain had been for a long time, perhaps forever. He would be stepping into the lost city he had nearly died trying to find in time to prevent the earth from being destroyed by Anubis; Atlantis.

* * *

Well, I hope you liked the first chapter. Let me know what you think. 


	2. Two

Chapter Two

Jon O'Neill grunted as he landed on his backside in the cool grassy meadow outside of the school. His nose was bleeding and he had bruises all over. This apparently was enough for the two large idiots who had decided he would make a good punching bag, because they walked away snickering with each other. Jon scowled after them, but didn't rise from his position until he was certain they were gone. 

He sighed as he slowly got to his feet, wincing with pain. He was fairly certain that when he had been sixteen before, he hadn't been so picked on. Nor had he fallen flat on his face when trying out for hockey the first time. At least, that was how he thought he remembered it, and that was another thing that was different. He knew he'd had a photographic memory; it was one of the reasons getting over Charlie's death had been so hard. Every moment was etched as though printed on a photograph just waiting to be looked over. At least, that's how it _had_ been. Now, it was a wonder he was able to remember to do his homework on time. 

"Damn Asgard," he muttered to himself as he brushed dirt and leaves from his stained clothes, "If they hadn't cloned me…" 

A flash of light interrupted his ranting and he found himself staring into the concerned (well, he _supposed_ it was concerned, Asgard expressions being so easy to read and all) eyes of an Asgard. The name of this particular alien escaped him at the moment, but he was sure it wasn't Thor. Well, fairly certain. Okay, so he wasn't at all sure, not with his brain not working like it used to. 

"Greetings," the Asgard said in that strange atonal quality the Asgard had, "Have you seen O'Neill?" 

Jon blinked. Then he blinked again. Then he laughed. "Look, uh…" 

"I am Frere," the creature stated, sounding annoyed that he even had to supply his name. 

"Right. Look, Frere. Me and Jack don't get a long too well you see, so no. I haven't seen him since he dropped me off in front of the school eight months ago. So could you just let me go back to…" 

"Then have you also not been in contact with Commander Thor?" Frere interrupted, "We are highly concerned." 

Startled, Jon could only stare at the small grey alien for a minute. Thor was missing? And possibly Jack? This did not bode well for his weekend plans consisting of training for the next hockey try-outs. He sighed and looked down at his feet. He had hoped that going to high school again would help him forget about the SGC and everything he'd done and seen in his lifetime, but it hadn't worked out very well. Soon after he'd begun, he had started wishing he could go back to the excitement of fighting for his life and that of his teammates. 

Now, here Frere was offering him the perfect chance to get back in the action, and he was reluctant. He definitely remembered the times he'd come face to face with his robot clones and how much he'd hated the thought there was somebody else out there with his memories. He knew Jack would feel the same way, because he did have his memories, and Jon didn't want to get in the middle of something that would cause a scene. 

"When did they disappear?" Jon finally asked after a silent debate with himself. 

Frere blinked at him and tilted his head slightly, as though giving the question considerable thought. When he answered, it wasn't what Jon wanted to hear. "I do not know. Commander Thor has been out of contact for some time, but we only noticed the discrepancy recently. We attempted to contact General O'Neill, but…" 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Jon interrupted, that last bit catching his attention, "_General_ O'Neill. When did…oh. Right. Sorry, finish your story." 

"As I was saying, we attempted to contact the general, but he was not available. He had only been reported missing as of that morning." Frere paused for a moment and gave Jon a penetrating look before continuing, "Loki escaped from his holding facility during the time the replicators were attacking our new home world." 

Jon decided not to ask what that was all about, especially with news like that. "Loki's running around free as a bird? Well. That's just peachy, ain't it? And that's why you got me. You were hoping I'd know what he was up to." Jon shook his head slightly, feeling that strange sense of satisfaction that came with being one up on a superior species. "Hate to break it to ya pal, but I'm nothing more than second rate to your friend Loki. He didn't even care if I died or not." As much as he hated it, he couldn't keep the bitterness from his tone. 

"Then we may all be doomed," said Frere. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

The Asgard blinked at him, but said nothing. Jon scowled slightly, then his eyes widened. "Hey," he shouted, just before he was transported back to earth. 

"…don't do that," he finished, then looked around, hoping no one had seen that. 

Obviously the only way he was going to get his questioned answered, was to go directly to the source. Daniel. The archaeologist would tell him anything. At least he hoped he would. Especially after learning what Frere had done. 

------------

Elizabeth Weir was standing in the control room of the Atlantis gate area when an incoming wormhole activated. She frowned slightly. No teams were off world except for Major Sheppard's, and horrible images of what could have happened to them flashed before her eyes, but she shoved them aside and waited along with the tech manning the station for the identifier that would tell them it was okay to open the shield. 

Not long after the wormhole was established, they got it, and Weir gave the order for them to lower the shield. Almost immediately, weapons fire rained into Atlantis, and she had to duck behind a pillar, her heart racing. What _had_ happened to her team? Teyla was the first through, but it was some few seconds before Sheppard and Lieutenant Ford came through, dragging Rodney between them. 

Elizabeth watched, her heart in her throat, as the shield was raised and five loud 'thumps' could be heard against it. She didn't wait any longer before running down to the men in the center and crouching by Rodney's side. 

"Get a medical team in here, immediately," she shouted, not looking up from the horrible burning wound in the scientist's shoulder. He was, thankfully, unconscious, but he looked so pale. 

"What happened?" she questioned Sheppard, "This wasn't caused by a Wraith weapon, was it?" 

"No ma'am," Lieutenant Ford answered, gasping with pain, "It was a staff weapon…" he broke off with a grimace and clutched his leg. Elizabeth instantly felt guilty for not noticing it earlier, but told herself that Rodney's wound was just so terrible that she couldn't have noticed anything else. If any of the others had been injured like that, she'd have done the same thing. 

Then the import of what Ford had said hit her. "Staff weapon? Here, in the Pegasus galaxy?" 

"Yeah," said Sheppard as Beckett forced his way through them to the patient, "There was a whole sh…er lots of them. They got the drop on us, just as we were coming back to report." 

"And the people you were going to meet?" Elizabeth reluctantly stood aside as the medical team pulled Rodney onto a gurney and took him in the direction of the infirmary. Ford was next, despite his protests, which Beckett acted like he didn't even hear. 

Teyla made a sudden motion, but didn't say anything. Sheppard shrugged and gazed at the Athosian in concern. "I don't know, Doctor. Teyla said they were shy, but when they didn't come to meet us after a certain period of time, she said she didn't like the feel of the place." 

"All right," Weir told him, "You two go get cleaned up and checked over, and meet me in the conference room in one hour. We'll talk about this in more detail then." 

Just as she had finished speaking, the 'gate suddenly sprang to life once more. Elizabeth and Sheppard both tensed as they turned towards it. If the Goa'uld could get to the Pegasus galaxy, then would they be able to find a way to break through the shield? 

Sheppard must have been thinking along the same lines, because he shouted for the soldiers to fire on his command. The shield sputtered and went dead before he had finished. 

The atmosphere was tense as they all awaited what would happen next. None of them was prepared for the sight that met their eyes at that time though, for, out of the wormhole stepped a man none of them had ever thought to see for a very long time. 

General Jack O'Neill. 


	3. Three

**Chapter Three**

Jack looked around the place he'd 'gated to, taking in the stunned gazes of Dr. Weir and Major Sheppard and wondering why everything looked so familiar and why he was feeling like he'd just run a ten mile marathon. Then he passed out. 

When he woke up, he found he felt much better, though his mouth seemed to be full of cotton and he wasn't sure where he was at. It _looked_ like an infirmary, but was it the SGC? He stared at the ceiling in concentration for a minute before his recent memories returned. He wasn't in the SGC, he wasn't even in the same galaxy, much less the same planet. He was on Atlantis. At least he thought he was on Atlantis, he sort of remembered seeing Dr. Weir and Sheppard. 

He also remembered being so drained he couldn't even stand up straight, much less conscious, and passing out. Well, that would explain his being in the infirmary. He sat up and scowled at the room in general. There wasn't anyone there to receive it however, so he quit and settled to observe. Someone would be along shortly to check on him, he knew from experience, but for now he was glad to be on his own. 

Like the one at the SGC, there was medical equipment piled from corner to corner, the machines that were assigned a task, beeping softly as it worked. From where he was sitting, he could see six other beds, and one of them was occupied with machinery and wires surrounding the occupant so he couldn't tell who it was or if he knew them. A frown creased his face, and he slowly rose from the bed. As if an outside source was controlling him, he began walking towards the other bed until he found himself standing beside it looking down on the patient. 

It was Dr. Rodney McKay. His face was pale and it looked as though he were having trouble breathing. A wide bandage covered his chest and arm, and Jack suddenly found himself taking it off. He sucked in a breath through his teeth at the sight. It was a staff blast wound, but it wasn't normal. It looked as though it were eating the flesh around it alive, growing larger as more time went by. 

Again, that strange intuition drew his will and he raised a trembling hand and placed it over the wound. Instantly, he found himself seeing the wound as though through a microscope. The skin and muscle cells, the platelets and blood cells, and the flesh-eating bacteria that had been introduced to the wound were all laid out in his mind. Then, using his own energy, he killed the bacteria before it could spread further and encouraged stem cells to differentiate and move towards the wound, rapidly healing it until nothing was left but a small scar. 

Jack fell to the ground in a slump, that drained feeling having come over him again, but he forced himself back to his feet. There was still the fever to deal with. Before he could continue however, a hand gently pulled him away and he turned to stare into a concerned pair of dark eyes. Dr. Beckett, his mind supplied from somewhere in the distance. He tried to shake the hand off, but it was insistant. 

"I'll take it from here, General," the doctor said softly, awe coloring his tone, "you look dead on your feet." 

Jack instantly snapped out of the semi-trance he'd been in and stared at Beckett as though the man had grown a second head. Then he sighed and sat down on the next bed over. "I did it again, didn't I?" He couldn't keep the petulance from his tone. Damn it! He did not need this. 

"No," Beckett said after watching him with concern, "You didn't. At least, I don't think you did. You're MRI appears normal." 

Jack raised an eyebrow. "There's a 'but' in there somewhere," he said dryly and gave a wry grin. 

The Scot didn't respond to the humor, but answered him seriously, "Yes, there is. Somehow you deactivated the shield that protects our 'gate in a similar manner as your iris protects your 'gate. And now, you've just healed a wound I was almost certain was going to cripple this man for life, if not kill him outright." 

Jack shook his head. "How am I able to do all that if I don't have the Ancient's knowledge, right?" 

Beckett gave his own wry grin this time, "Right in one. I've been going over your charts again, since you and that Ancient woman were the basis from which I found the ATA gene, but I just can't find anything, except that marker the Asgard said they had put in your DNA to protect you from genetic experiments." 

As soon as Beckett said 'Asgard', Jack suddenly had an image of one of the little grey aliens stooping over him, as though checking if he were all right. It was Loki. Jack pushed it to the back of his mind and came back to the present. "Well, let me know what you find, okay? In the meantime, I'd like to have a word with Dr. Weir." 

The doctor hesitated a moment, before nodding reluctantly. "Well, all right. You seem to be doing all right now, and she did need to have a word with you as well. But if you start feeling at all tired," he held up a warning finger, "you are to come right back here. Understood?" 

Jack grinned. "Ya sure ya betcha." 

"I mean it, General. If I find you've disobeyed me, I'm going to sedate you and confine you here." 

"All right, all right," Jack held up his hands in a placating manner, "I promise. If I get tired, I'll come back. Promise." 

"I'll have someone lead you to Dr. Weir then." 

Jack nodded and looked once more at the sleeping man he had just healed. What the hell was going on? 

--------------

Jon sat on a chair outside the general's office as the people inside discussed the situation. He had told Daniel what Frere had done and the archaeologist had rushed him down to the SGC after telling of Jack being missing for longer than the week he'd been forced to take off. They'd looked everywhere; his cabin, his house, Sarah's house…but no one had seen him. Then the Asgard had contacted them asking if they'd seen Thor. Of course, the Asgard hadn't told them of Loki's escape, but everyone had been certain Thor's and Jack's disappearances were somehow related. 

Now they were more than certain. They were positive, and it had something to do with Loki. Unfortunately, Jon had been forced to wait outside while General Hammond, Major Davis, and his old team conferred over possible plans of action. Jon snorted and kicked his foot against the chair like he did whenever he was sent to the vice-principal's office. What? Were they just going to go out and politely ask Loki to return their friends? 

_Incoming wormhole!_

Jon jumped slightly as the klaxons went off. He'd forgotten how loud those things were, and he rubbed his ear as the people walked out and made their way into the control room, ignoring him. Jon scowled after them, then stood up and followed. He might be a clone, and he might be like thirty or so years younger than the man they were used to, but hey. He still had his recent tactical memories, even if he couldn't recall them as well as he used to. 

Once in the control room, he stood just behind Teal'c and Daniel, and looked between them down at the 'gate room. Bra'tac and one of the Tok'ra he couldn't stand (what was his name again? Oh yeah, Merrick) were speaking quickly with Carter and General Hammond. 

"What's going on?" he asked Daniel. 

"No idea," the archaeologist said absently, "Though I'm surprised the Tok'ra actually showed up, and with a Jaffa." 

"You are?" 

Daniel turned and gave him an odd look, and Teal'c put in, "The Tok'ra have broken off relations with us for the time being. They do not believe we are worthy of a continued alliance." 

"Oh. Sounds like them." Jon frowned and then asked, "What about Jacob?" 

"No idea," Daniel repeated. 

Jon sighed and folded his arms across his chest. Surely Daniel hadn't been this insolent when he'd been older, had he? Well, whether or not he had, Jon was tired of being treated like a child when he had the freakin' memories of a fifty year old man. "Look," he insisted, "I might not be as tall as Jack is, and I might even use a slightly different name, but I still have his memories." 

"Indeed," agreed Teal'c who gave him a half-smile, "However, you do not possess his most recent memories and they may be what Loki is after. As to what is happening in the 'gate room, neither DanielJackson or I know as we cannot hear what they are saying." 

Properly chastised, Jon looked away. Then he looked back up at the tall Jaffa. "Wait. What do you mean his most recent memories are the ones Loki would be after? What'd he do, get his head sucked by one of those Ancient things again?" 

"Indeed." 

"Oh." 

After some minutes, the four in the 'gate room made their way up into the briefing room, and Jon followed when Teal'c, Daniel, and Davis went up after them. When no one told him to get lost, he took an empty seat between Teal'c and Daniel. 

"Okay people," Hammond began, looking haggard, "We have problems. Merrick and Bra'tac have just informed us that Ba'al has entered into a trade agreement with an Asgard." 

"Let me guess," Jon said dryly, "Loki." 

"Right," Hammond said, "And that's not all. Apparently, Loki knows the way to the Pegasus galaxy and has told Ba'al. Whether or not that's true, Ba'al's fleet has disappeared." 

"Many rebel Jaffa were stationed as spies within Ba'al's services," Bra'tac said, "And we have lost contact with them all." 

"The same has happened with our own spy," Merrick agreed. 

"Whose name you can't give us," Daniel remarked bitterly. 

Jon gave him an odd look then returned his attention to Hammond. "Look, if Loki's got Jack and Thor, and he's in league with Ba'al, then…" 

"And if Loki really does know about Atlantis and has told Ba'al…" 

"Then there are a lot of innocent people who have no idea what's coming at them," Carter finished, looking quite fierce, "We have to do something! We've got the new engines for the Prometheus put in, it's capable of intergalactic travel now…" 

"I understand all that, Colonel," Hammond told her gently, "But my hands are tied. Right now, the only means of defense this planet has is the Prometheus, and we have no way of knowing if this is some sort of trap to make us vulnerable." 

"Maybe we can get the Asgard to help," Jon said thoughtfully, "I mean, they're supposed to be looking after us right?" 

"We've already tried," Daniel said, still sounding bitter, "But they're not answering now." 

"Sir," Carter said, "with all due respect, I believe it's worth the risk. If Ba'al were to get his hands on the Ancient technology we believe is present in the Pegasus galaxy, the Prometheus won't help us out. We'll be in the same position as we were when Anubis attacked, if not worse since we don't know what kind of weapons he can find or make." 

Hammond sighed, but he smiled slightly as he did so. "Very well, I'll make that recommendation."

* * *

And so ends chapter three. Thanks everyone so much for your reviews.  
  



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